-- Vietnam always works toward maintaining a peaceful and stable environment in the East Vietnam Sea but will resolutely and persistently protect national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong told voters in Hanoi on Tuesday.

-- The 18th ASEAN-China Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Vietnam Sea (DOC) was held in Da Lat City in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on Tuesday.

Society

-- The administration of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province in southern Vietnam has ordered that work be halted on a land reclamation project to develop a US$50 million aquarium complex in Vung Tau City, as authorities are tasked with reevaluating the project’s environmental impact.

-- A styrene concentration that exceeds standards by 1.3 to 3.65 times was detected in the tap water in multiple districts of western Hanoi and is likely responsible for the smell of “burning plastic” reported by local residents over the past week, a Ministry of Health official said on Tuesday without clarifying the health risks of consuming water containing such a high level of the chemical compound.

-- A 1,570-meter bridge was inaugurated in the northern port city of Hai Phong on Tuesday after 33 months of construction, linking the city center with a new urban area to the north of the Cam River. The unique design of the $94.6 million bridge drew inspiration from the wings of a seabird.

-- Nguyen Thi Thuy, a 29-year-old teacher at the Gateway elementary school in Hanoi, has been charged with “lack of responsibility, causing serious consequences” after her alleged failure to report a student’s absence led to the death of the first grader, who was locked inside a school bus for nine hours in early August.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said on Tuesday it was investigating the death of a 59-year-old Vietnamese woman who allegedly suffered an anaphylactic shock hours after receiving a facelift at the Kangnam beauty salon in District 3.

Business

-- National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has blamed the weather for two unsuccessful landing attempts by a Ho Chi Minh City-Da Nang plane on Monday. The plane ended up landing at a nearby airport in Hue, where it waited for one hour before heading back to Da Nang.

-- A U.S. agricultural trade mission made up of representatives from 11 states and 40 exporters, headed by Under Secretary of Agriculture Ted McKinney, is on a four-day working trip to Vietnam between October 15 and 18 to promote exports of American agricultural produce to the Southeast Asian country.

Many sewers along the streets in Ho Chi Minh City have their entrances blocked by garbage on a regular basis, negatively impacting urban esthetics and the environment while helping cause serious flooding.

Despite the sweltering weather in Hanoi these days, many young people still flock to lotus ponds surrounding the capital city’s iconic Ho Tay (West Lake) to pose for Instgram-ready photos with a sea of blooming flowers.